Southern Style

Sorry for the delay - I was so busy preparing food for the party last Friday that I didn't take any pictures! I'll summarize the bday weekend in bullet form:

• I was pleasantly surprised by an invite to get breakfast with my dad on Friday morning. I talked a lot, as is usual with my parents, but it felt really nice to share so much with him one-on-one. It meant a lot to me. Funny how talking with parents at this age makes you feel both young and old - a good feeling. 
• I took a walk with a great lady friend on Friday while my pita bread was rising, and she made me laugh and also generously poured me a little drink of St. Germain when we reached her apartment. What a luxury.
• Fortunately there was enough food for the 15 or so people that stopped by for the party on Friday night, and all of it turned out well. Guests were grateful and I felt loved. Even the coconut macaroons were a hit, to my surprise!
• On my birthday SB took me out for breakfast at my favorite local cafe, and then to see The Master. It was complex and hard to watch, but beautiful and interesting. Puzzling, dazzling, frustrating, boring...all at once somehow. GREAT acting. Worth a viewing. Then we took a much-needed nap.
• The evening of my bday we went out for drinks and moonlight bowling with my brother and sister-in-law - such fun! We laughed nonstop. It was a blast.
• The next morning we all had breakfast at my parents' house, including my hilarious little niece, who is a ball of energy. She repeatedly yelled "touchdown!" and threw her hands up in the air. What a riot. She also attempted to say my name for the first time, which mostly came out as a K- sound, but made me melt.

A great birthday. One of my best. Most of it thanks to SB and my great family and friends. I'm lucky. 

Since then, I've been putting my new birthday apron and cookbook to good use! Earlier this week I experimented with new veggies for our usual stir fry, adding celery (duh, delicious) and cabbage. How wonderful to make something scrumptious out of random items in your refrigerator. Nothing beats surprising yourself.

Here is a picture of today's meal - "Hottie Black-Eyed Peas & Greens" with ginger mashed sweet potatoes. We LOVE southern food - especially getting a taste for greens. I'm already big fan of this new cookbook - by the author of Veganomicon. 

On a final note, I'm reading two awesome books right now - My Life in Paris by Julia Child (the joy leaps off of the page) and, very different but also profoundly compelling, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. Though I'm not finished with either, I recommend them both.